Monthly Archives: October 2014

Expert panelists with largest event and charity backgrounds in the world

San Diego, CA – October 30, 2014RaceHQTM, a first-of-its-kind cloud-based project management, collaboration and task management tool for participatory events, announced today its second webinar in the Managing the Millions of Details Webinar Series titled ‘Creating Social and Financial Impact Through Your Event Charity Program’ on November 5, 2014 at 4PM EST. The webinar will feature industry expert panelists including Richard Hulnick, creator of NYC Marathon and New York Road Runners Charity Programs with over $200 Million raised for the 350+ charities involved and Alison Tibbits, National Director, Endurance at Muscular Dystrophy Association.

RaceHQ’s Managing the Millions of Details Webinar Series was created to help race directors take their race to the next level by bringing together the industry’s top experts in their given field to provide perspective and knowledge on the hottest topics impacting the participatory event industry. ‘Creating Social and Financial Impact Through Your Event Charity Program’ is the second in this series of highly interactive webinars that will be moderated by industry veteran Anton Villatoro, President & Co-Founder of RaceHQ.

“We are thrilled to host this panel of top industry experts on how to best create an event charity program that makes good business sense,” said Anton Villatoro, President and Co-Founder of RaceHQ.“Whether a for-profit or not-for-profit organization it is critical that events and charities know how to partner to create social and financial impact for all involved”.

RaceHQ webinars are for event managers of small-, medium-, and large-sized events and includes a ‘Critical Success Factors’ one-pager, ’Road Map to Success’ info-graphic, and a free RaceHQ account. Webinar format will be a 25-minute panel discussion, followed by 20-minutes of Q&A. For more information or to register, visit www.racehq.com/webinar-charity.

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About RaceHQ

RaceHQ.com is an online project management, collaboration and task management tool for participatory events. Developed specifically for event managers, RaceHQ incorporates a comprehensive set of features to more efficiently operate and execute events within budget every time. RaceHQ replaces the clipboard and yellow notepad by allowing race directors to easily take control of their events online using any device, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks.

We define mid-sized events as events with up to 5,000 participants and how you approach sponsorship can differ from that of a larger event. You still need disciplined sales practices about how you manage your time and your pipeline, but there are unique success factors that will help you land in-kind, cash, and media sponsors.

Unless your in-kind sponsor is also paying cash, limit their exposure to to product placement onsite at your event (e.g. XYZ energy drink at the finish line). This will also boost the value of your cash sponsorship packages, not only because you are giving in-kind sponsors incentive to upgrade their involvement the following year (with cash!) but you are also ensuring you do not end up with a dilutive sponsor ‘alphabet soup’ with 50+ logos on all your event marketing materials.

When it comes to cash sponsors, pursue regional and national companies with a strong brand and a local presence (such as a Volkswagen dealership). This will lend credibility and raise the profile of your event which will also helping you land other cash sponsors.

Media sponsors, however, really should be your first stop when building out your sponsorship program for a mid-sized event. Go after media partners in every category (TV, radio, print, etc.) by offering sponsorship benefits – much like you would to any other potential sponsor – in exchange for promotional inventory (e.g. 15-sec radio spots) you can use to promote your event while folding this in to your sponsorship packages as an added sponsor benefit to your cash sponsors.

Whether you manage a small event (up to 500 participants) or a larger event many of the principals of building a successful event sponsorship program remain the same. You still need to build your sales materials and have a sales process in place. However, how you approach sponsorship can differ dramatically because your event does not have the same reach for a sponsor as a larger event.

When approaching in-kind sponsors go after local companies for budget relieving product (i.e. bananas, bagels, etc.), but also one that will serve to enhance the participant’s event experience and increase the profile of your event. For example, if you are able to secure your local Whole Foods Market then not only will you get food for your participants but a national brand attached to your event at the same time.

Cash sponsors for smaller events are harder to secure, but not if you take the right approach. Go after local companies that are heavily tied into the community that are accustomed to making cash “donations” to sports teams and leagues. Also be sure to tie in with a local charitable cause as this will make writing a check for the sponsor much more palatable if they know your event supports a worthy cause.

Lastly, be sure to pursue local media sponsors by pitching them great stories about your participants that could garner editorial coverage for your event. Tie in with a local charity and talk about how your event is helping to change lives. We are, after all, in the business of raising the self-esteem and self-confidence of millions of people and everyone loves a great story!

Building a successful event sponsorship program for large events of 10,000 or more participants differs dramatically from small- to mid-sized events. Not only does it require a higher level of sophistication on behalf of you and your team, but the sponsor is also generally much more sophisticated and truly understands that sponsorship is simply another form of advertising. As such, the sponsor’s expectations will largely revolve around return on their investment as compared to other forms of advertising their product or service.

For in-kind sponsorships pursue sponsors that not only offer budget relief but that also have the ability to write a check. Often times in the negotiating process you can offer to accept more product than cash if the in-kind product also helps your bottom line. For example, a shoe and apparel company (e.g. Brooks) might be able to supply some or all of your participant tech-T’s in addition to their cash sponsorship.

Within cash sponsorships larger events have a wider range of endemic and non-endemic companies they may pursue. Generally speaking, because of their higher level of sophistication the sponsor will also likely spend more dollars to activate the sponsorship than a sponsor of a smaller event. As such, it will be important for you and your team not only to activate the sponsorship on your end effectively but to perform a 3rd-party sponsorship valuation to show a high return on investment for they know they are getting higher return than a traditional advertising medium.

When it comes to media sponsorships not only will you want to feed your media partners stories for editorial purposes and negotiate promotional inventory to fold into your sponsorship packages, but you will want to embark on joint-selling opportunities. Joint-selling with a media partner will open the door to potential sponsors you may not otherwise be in touch with on a regular basis, whereas your television partner may speak with these companies on an on-going basis. For example, up-selling Volkswagen into an advertising package that also includes sponsorship benefits to your event could be a win-win-win for all involved!

San Diego, CA – October 9, 2014RaceHQTM, a first-of-its-kind cloud-based project management, collaboration and task management tool for participatory events, announced today its first webinar in the Managing the Millions of Details Webinar Series titled ‘Building a Successful Event Sponsorship Program’ on October 21, 2014 at 4PM EST. The webinar will feature industry expert panelists including John Smith, Senior Vice President, Competitor Group, Inc., and Cape Capener, Senior Vice President, AVIA.

RaceHQ’s Managing the Millions of Details Webinar Series was created to help race directors take their race to the next level by bringing together the industry’s top experts in their given field to provide perspective and knowledge on the hottest topics impacting the participatory event industry. ‘Building a Successful Event Sponsorship Program’ is the first in this series of highly interactive webinars that will be moderated by industry veteran Anton Villatoro, President & Co-Founder of RaceHQ.

“We are thrilled to host this panel of top industry experts and colleagues in the ongoing discussion on how to crack the nut on sponsorship,” said Anton Villatoro, President and Co-Founder of RaceHQ.“Often the difference in profitability or whether or not a charitable event raises money for a cause comes down to sponsorships that create opportunity, meaning, and business”.

RaceHQ webinars are for event managers of small-, medium-, and large-sized events and includes a ‘Critical Success Factors’ one-pager, ’Your Road Map to Success’ info-graphic, and a free RaceHQ account. Webinar format will be a 30-minute panel discussion, followed by 15-minutes of Q&A. For more information or to register, visit racehq.com/webinar-sponsorship.

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About RaceHQ

RaceHQ.com is an online project management, collaboration and task management tool for participatory events. Developed specifically for event managers, RaceHQ incorporates a comprehensive set of features to more efficiently operate and execute events within budget every time. RaceHQ replaces the clipboard and yellow notepad by allowing race directors to easily take control of their events online using any device, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks.